18: Fire Chief Clare Frank

Join Host Christopher Baker as he connects with retired Fire Chief Clare Frank to explore her remarkable journey in the fire service—beginning with how she got her start at just 17 and rising through the ranks to become the first female Chief of Fire Protection. In this episode, Chief Frank shares what firefighter mentorship means to her and how it has shaped her leadership along the way. She also opens up about the inspiration behind her book Burnt: A Memoir of Fighting Fire, offering insight into the challenges of burnout and resilience. The conversation continues with the importance of maintaining work-life balance in such a demanding profession, followed by a discussion of her newer book, Just One More Game: A Pickleball Quest—why she wrote it and what readers can take from it. Chief Frank reflects on the value of having hobbies and creative outlets, and how they can help sustain both personal well-being and professional longevity.

Biography:

Clare Frank served as the State of California's first female Chief of Fire Protection. She began firefighting at age 17 and worked her way through the ranks, handling fire and rescue emergencies and major disasters in both urban and rural settings, as well as completing peace officer training and serving as part of CAL FIRE's arson and law enforcement program. Along the way, she earned a spot on an elite state command team, a bachelor's in fire administration, a law degree, a master's in creative writing, and several leadership awards. Now, she brings humor and candor to her stories about first responders, lawyers, and life, and is on the faculty for UNR-at-Tahoe's masters program for creative writing. Burnt: A Memoir of Fighting Fire is Clare's highly acclaimed debut and has been featured in the New York Times, New York Post, San Francisco Chronicle, CNN Opinion, Shondaland, FireRescue1, and others. Clare just released her second book, Just One More Game: A Pickleball Quest, about her latest passion. She lives near Lake Tahoe with her husband Bud and always a dog or two.